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I'm just beginning to paint with oils and would like to know how some of you have set up your palette.

Do you use a wooden kidney shaped palette, glass or clear plastic palette? How do you arrange your paints on the palette? What brand of oil color paints do you prefer? And what colors have you chosen? Do you attach a dipping cup for mineral spirits to your palette?

If you can post a photo that would be great. Once I get mine set up, I'll post photos also. I'm planning to paint in the studio and plein air.

You didn't give enough options. I use a glass palette on top of my taboret, or the rectangular wooden one in my french easel. Many people use paper. I think you'll get many responses that don't fit into the 4 choices in your poll.

No, not enough options...I needed 'none of the above'....I use whatever I could find in the house when I started using oils....an old wooden chopping board....anything would have done really.

I don't 'arrange' my colours....although I usually squeeze the paint out according to colour....yellow ends up next to red and ochre, black next to brown and ultramarine etc. Depends what I choose to use.

Brands? I started with W&N Artisan and then moved to Rembrandt and little bit of W&N Artists Oil. Colours? Depends what you're painting. Usually I'd start with the primary colours, black, white and burnt umber. No dipping cup - it stinks. I've got an old teacup for any medium that I sometimes use. I don't like having white spirit under my nose while painting so tend not to use that very much.

I use 3 of these: one for portraits, general stuff and project specific... that way I dont have to clean them off every time I do somthing new... sorta
Masterson - "tupperware" type thing I can seal off when done for the day, I added a piece of glass to the bottom and Im pretty good for several days of "fresh" paint.

and this thing for plein air, it fits perfectly in my ponch box, seals tight for travel and keeps paints fresh. Again replaced the cheap plastic tray with a glass one

"None of the above" too. Because I am a weekend painter, I use disposable Masterson paper size which fits exactly on and over my Soltek palette board. This minor expense alleviates some clean-up in the field and scraping of the palette. Also, I use an oil soaked smaller Masterson "sta-wet" palette which keeps my oils damp and workable for up to 4-5 days and/or re-kindled with addition of some oil and re-mix. Additionally, this reduces some field time with respect to set-up.

Another one for "none of the above". I use a glass palette in my home made pochade. Very easy to clean, even if the paint dries on the palette. In the past, I have used the wooden, hand held palette, and also the disposable paper palettes. Slowly drifted to using glass. If I had room for a taboret, it would be topped with glass.

Not the best of Polls, but never less, an interesting thread! I use the polystyrene trays that some fruit and veges come wrapped in. I can just toss it in bin after use and as long as turps doesn't get on it it does the job. Although, I think it is quite porous so might look at something that makes paints last a little longer if i walk away from easel.

I use the disposable type. Have done so as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm just a compulsive mess maker (see wife for discussion of eating habits), but when I get to working, if I don't have a clear palette I know that I'll turn it into a pile of mud in no time. So if I have extra untouched from the tube color or a color I've mixed on my current sheet that I need to use and have more of I'll transfer it to a clean sheet. For medium I use a nice little cream cheese container for my turp and oil mix...close it up and walk away.

I ALWAYS make sure to dispose of this and paper towels, rags into a small steel trash container, with lid tightly shut. Fire is not our friend.